Friday, June 18, 2010

Ni'lin

I have a confession to make. I am an artist. I am by no means an expert on Middle Eastern politics - which isn't to say that I don't know a lot or have very strong opinions on the matter, but these illustrations I've made and am finishing are a reflection on my observations. I was attracted to this activism by the cause of fighting against injustice, but I pursued it for the people and the images they make in that awesome landscape. I have sketches upon sketches that are awaiting me in the mail from over there. I make them as I experience life - as I'm waiting for an action to start, taking to the Shabab in Sheikh Jarrah, sitting on a bus, lazing around the apartment listening to someone bring life to a guitar. My work exists within the society that surrounds me and the society inspires me to create. With my more overtly political work, I can only hope to show people the disturbing reality I've seen - to let them know that beyond all the jargon, there is a human issue that is both beautiful and horrible. Where we go from here, what you can take personally from this work, I can't know - art is an interpretive force. Perhaps emotion can lead to reason.

And now, the next in the series; Ni'lin. (I'd say it's worth it to see it big.)

31 comments:

That’s a great image. It has a lot going on. I wonder about the meaning of the imagery on the right?

BTW, I wanted to share with you one last artist who you might find inspiration from. The English writer, Alan Moore. Did you know he's Nearly blind in one eye since childhood? Tis true.

He's had a celebrated career writing comics, essays and doing performances. I'd recommend you delve into some of his interviews if you haven’t already.

Here is a clip of him talking about art, magic and marketing...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGq-9X3ho7U&feature=related

Somewhere in there he says...

"(artists) can change a society ... It is not the job of artists to give the audience what the audience want. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn't be the audience."

hmmm...

in another part of that video not in the clip, he says this, which I think is pretty potent...

'Our political structures, philosophical structures, ideological frameworks, economies. These are actually imaginary things, and yet that is the framework that we have built our entire world upon. It strikes me that a strong enough wave of information could completely overturn and destroy all of that.'

hmmm...This seems fitting to me. This seems to me to be purpose of art and of artists. It reminds me, of you.

Artists know that you don't have to take the world as it is.

You can you change it. You can shape it. You can make it better.

The critics will hurl insults or worse at the artist, but in the end, its the dreamers, it’s the artists, who bring the new ideas into the world that become reality...

Congratulations on being a Blog of Note! Your site is very worthwhile. I love the use of art to make a statement of anykind. I look forward to following your blog. When you have a few minutes, stop by and let me know what you think of my two blogs - Levonne's Pretty Pics and A Camp Host Housewife's Meanderings. Thanks and bye now! Oh - Love your header art!

Very nice and inspiring words as well as art, thank you, I'm a music composer and I feel that the best inspiration comes from everyday life and events, I just started a blog and posted my music, check it out if you have time :)

All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly.AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES.

Good for you Ms. Henochowicz for transcending a negative incident and turning it into something positive. Far from the dishonest stereotype of the young "idealistic, naive" activist, you show that art can be very useful for transforming people's view of the Mideast, and show that you have much more vision and maturity than our "leaders".Good luck!